"Hoho, I'm sorry for the sudden invitation. I'm sure the two of you were quite surprised, but please be at ease. I'm not going to harm you or anything," Boseman said, his voice carrying a reassuring tone. He leaned slightly forward, a warm smile on his face, trying to put us at ease.
"No, it's alright," I replied, though my voice held a tinge of uncertainty.
They say that following a stranger, especially into a car or any unknown situation, is bound to get you into trouble.
Parents warn their kids about such dangers, and I knew that sa notion applied to here.
But circumstances seed to be a lot more complicated than I had expected.
"Ah, apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My na is Boseman Yuliel, and this 'kind' woman right beside is Liany. I believe you may have already heard or know of us, yes?"
The middle-aged man, with slick hair and a well-polished mustache, introduced himself and the lady next to him with a smile. Although he didn't really need to, as I knew both of them very well from the ga.
Their faces and nas were etched in my mory from countless hours spent navigating through the heroines' storylines, among the extra's the ga had these two were probably the most prominent as the number of caos and intricacies, connected to them on are a lot as the story goes, especially if you follow princess Snow's route where it would tackle the political sches and financial problems the academy will have soon.
'But why invite like this, though?'
The question echoed in my mind as I tried to make sense of the situation. It was already strange that Boseman himself had called and asked out, but to think that the master of the House of Lust was also here made it even more surreal.
Liany, known for her cunning and charm, was a formidable presence, and seeing her here in person only heightened the sense of stepping into a larger ga.
"Yes... my na is Riley Hell, and the lady next to is Seo Gyeoul," I said with a small bow, trying to mask my unease with a show of respect. "It's an honor to be in the presence of two of the world's top business leaders."
Boseman's expression brightened at my response. He crossed his legs and scanned with one eye open, a calculating gaze that seed to pierce through my facade. His deanor, though warm, carried an undercurrent of scrutiny that made feel exposed.
In the ga, Boseman was the type to get interested in anything that slled like money, so it wasn't hard to think of reasons why he would suddenly invite for a ride like this.
Not to ntion, Liany was here as well.
Was it because of the excessive amount of money I was bidding even though I was still a student? Or did I seem interesting in his eyes?
Or did he just do it on a whim, which he usually did?
Whatever the reason, it still felt weird being stared at like that.
"Hm~ Hm~ looks like you don't rember ..." Boseman said, a playful lilt to his voice. "Pardon?" I replied, puzzled. Had I t him before? I didn't recall eting him. In fact, if I ever were to et such a notable supporting character like him, I wouldn't be acting like this. As far as I knew, this was our first eting.
"Three years ago... We t each other at Luther-no, I an the grand duke's castle. Rember? I believe it was the young lady Liyana's birthday at the ti," he explained, his eyes twinkling with amusent.
We t each other during Liyana's birthday?
I don't exactly rember eting him there though?
In fact, the only thing I rembered from that event was how Liyana kept following around wherever I went.
Boseman seed to sense my confusion and continued. "You were quite the talk of the party, Riley. It's understandable if you don't recall every encounter, but I rember you quite well. You left quite an impression."
His words stirred a vague recollection, fragnts of a lavish celebration and a persistent young lady's trailing through the grand halls.
It was a ti when I was still trying to find my footing in this world, overwheld by the grandeur and politics of high society that was suddenly imposed upon upon getting closer to Liyana at the ti...
"Ah- the two of you were so cute back then. It made want to hug you both imdiately, if Luth― I an, if the grand duke hadn't prevented from doing so."
"... I see," I replied, trying to mask my confusion and discomfort. Although I couldn't recall what he was talking about, I had a feeling he was probably one of the many people who greeted us among the crowd. Considering how paranoid I was about keeping Liyana stable during that ti, as well as trying to make her get away from , I guess I missed recognizing his face back then.
"I know that the young lady and you were very close ever since you were young, but to think that she would be betrothed so fast like this and have such a handso fiancé... ti truly goes by fast, huh? Hoho~" Boseman chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusent. Then he turned his gaze to Seo, who sat quietly by my side.
"By the way, you seem very close with the beautiful lady here. May I know your relationship, if you don't mind?"
It felt like an uncle interrogating his nephew as he caught him cheating. The atmosphere grew slightly tense as I tried to formulate a response that would be both honest and tactful.
"...." This man was quite direct and indirect at the sa ti. Although he said it as gently and positively as he could, as soone who was trained in the tongue of nobles.
What he basically ant was:
"Don't you have the beautiful lady Liyana as your fiancée already? Why the hell are you hanging out with another woman?"
Despite his subtlety, I could tell from his scrutinizing gaze and the slight edge in his voice that he was very suspicious of right now.
And he had every right to be. Considering how close Seo and I had been in front of others, we probably seed more than just friends.
I wasn't so dense as to miss the boundaries we'd crossed-boundaries that went far beyond the lines of re friendship.
For instance, we always held hands when walking together, a gesture far too intimate for simple friends. Seo practically joined for every activity, often inventing random reasons
just to be by my side.
Then there was the very subtle, yet noticeable, physical closeness she maintained with .
Over the past week of being "friends," Seo's open displays of affection were becoming more frequent, from brushing her breast against in conversations to casually linking arms.
If I didn't know Seo's intention, I would've thought she was being open about her feelings for , but I know she was just an innocent socially awkward person, so I just let it be until now... but I guess that was also a problem huh.
I glanced at Seo, who seed unfazed by the conversation.
She t Boseman's gaze with a polite smile, her deanor calm and composed. It was as if she didn't mind the implications of his question at all.
In fact, she seed to revel in the attention.
But even then, our relationship wasn't like that.
I knew Seo and her personality, and I could easily guess why she was acting this way.
She was quite the air-headed character, even in the ga, so I knew she probably didn't exactly understand the lines between friendship and being lovers.
Considering her only form of knowledge when it ca to interactions with other people was with her older sister, who was as socially awkward as she was, and her beloved books, it made
sense.
Then there's also , who pretty much just lets everything happen.
'Her being more socially inept at social norms was probably getting worse because of it.'
I knew I had to set boundaries, but she always looked sad whenever I didn't let her do what she wanted, so I just gave in and ignored the conscious looks of others.
But I guess I couldn't do that in front of this person.
Considering how fondly he talks about the duke; they must be close friends.
Although the ga did ntion the Goldkeeper having close ties to the Heaven Duchy's
businesses, I didn't think it was to this level.
The mont I say sothing that raises red flags, news of it would go directly to the duke,
and I would be in deep trouble.
The duke was one thing, but Liyana was another... 'I dolt know what type of letter she'll send
next if she finds out about this....'
It couldn't be [Bad end no. 25: Explosive love letter], right? "Haah..." I sighed deeply, feeling the weight of the misunderstanding settle heavily on my shoulders. I knew I had to say sothing to clear things up.
Overcomplicating the situation wouldn't help, so it was best to be honest and let him see the
reality of my circumstances.
After all, he was one of the smartest characters in the ga, second only to Princess Snow.
I was confident that even a brief explanation of Seo's character would suffice for him to grasp
my situation. "Yes... Seo is a great friend of mine," I said, glancing subtly at Seo. Despite her usually apathetic expression, she seed genuinely happy. The acknowledgnt as a friend ant a
lot to her.
For soone who had never had friends before, being introduced as one was probably a
dream co true. The slight upward curl of her lips and the way her eyes softened were subtle but clear indicators of her happiness.
Nodding her head with a slight blush coloring her cheeks, she imdiately added, "Yes, Riley
and I are best friends!"
"Best friends?" Boseman echoed, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized our interlocked hands.
The skeptical look on his face made it clear he was still trying to piece together the truth on
our words. "You seem a bit too close for re friends, though?"
This ti it was Liany who spoke. Although I couldn't see her face clearly due to the veil covering it, I could tell she was annoyed with for so reason.
The implication behind her words made feel like I was being accused of sothing inappropriate. Being scrutinized by his acquaintances felt uncomfortable, almost as if I were
a cheater.
"...Do we really look that close?" Seo responded, her voice slightly happier than usual. "I'm glad," she continued, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Actually, I was getting a bit worried lately since Riley always seems to be busy with sothing all the ti. I was concerned that our relationship wasn't progressing as much." She then added, "They say friends need to keep in touch with one another to go beyond being
best friends and beco this thing called BFF, and e-even more right?" Seo's head was slightly down, and she seed a bit shy, as if her words weren't going to spark any potential conflicts with my relationships.
"Excuse ?" both Liany and Boseman asked simultaneously, their eyes widening in surprise
at Seo's casually weird deanor.
They seed taken aback by how openly Seo talked about our friendship to the level that
seed absurd.
Since they assud we were having an affair, they were probably having a hard ti
processing what Seo kept rambling on about right now.
But it wasn't an affair to begin with.
As their eyes darted to mine, questioning if this woman was for real, I just casually shrugged
my shoulders.
11
'Yup, Seo really was just that type of socially awkward klutz.'
".....'
A few silent monts passed after that.
And It was only then that they eased up with their interrogative questions and started asking
casual ones instead.
Liany, in particular, began asking a whole lot of questions about the duke, her curiosity
seemingly endless.
Even though the conversation only lasted for about 3 minutes at most... why does it feel like
ahundred years of my life has passed just now.
'Don't cheat'
Rembering dad's advice, I silently vowed to myself to never go after any relationships
until I achieved my goal.
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